SUPERSOCIAL!?
From the certificate of poverty to the guaranteed minimum income
Who deserves to receive support?
This question has been continuously discussed and answered in different ways for the last 150 years and has lost nothing of its urgency. It is also the focus of this exhibition.
It narrates how society has dealt with life risks such as disease, old age and unemployment. The journey back in time starts with the so-called “labourer issue” of the 19th century that initiated the introduction of a state-funded insurance system.
From day one, this development was accompanied by political dispute. Health, retirement and unemployment insurance, labour law and childcare benefits: the pillars of the Austrian social system of today are and have been subject to constant change. The history of social security is also the history of varying living conditions experienced by people of different strata of society.
The exhibition is based on the Upper Austrian special regional exhibition titled “Help”, which has been newly staged for presentation at the Museum Arbeitswelt. It specifically aims to bring the past to the present. Features such as a reconstructed labourer’s cabin guarantee for a special experience.